Broken Heart
by Gullfaxi
Summary: Zaji goes to Angels Tears, and finds that everyone there is very strange indeed. He looks like a boy that killed himself to get away, and a girl begs to be taken away from there. What will happen to Zaji when he goes back there?
1. Chapter 1

All copyrights and ownership of all characters and places except stated below belong to the makers of the Tegami Bachi/Letter Bee manga series. I am not making any profit and do not claim any rights to anything other than mentioned below, this is purely for enjoyment and time wasting.  
I claim rights only to certain Towns and cities and people that are never said or mentioned and do not exist in the original universe of Letter Bee.  
NOTE: The following is unimportant if you don't know or care about the Zaji gender confusion!

In my story, Zaji is a male. I think Garrarg is off his rocker to still think Zaji is a she, and this confusion comes from reading the online manga scans. See, the person that translated it and stuff assumed Zaji was a tomboyish girl and they never mentioned his/her gender in the original manga, and until chapter 25 or so it seemed that Zaji was a girl and so the translator called her that whenever they talked about Zaji. But in chapters after 25, Zaji showed interests in 'manly' things and the character development deepened, and the way he talked implied Zaji was a he, and in chapter 27 you see Zaji without most of the obscuring Bee outfit on and his shirt is half open, and the lack boobissity and the non-girly figure greatly implied Zaji is male. And there was an abbey that only women could enter, and Zaji couldn't enter so this further clears up the gender confusion.

On with the story of Zaji! Events herein are following the story up to chapter 27 of the manga, and after that point it will be AU-ish. I will write in a way that if you never read the manga and don't know the universe of Letter Bee, you will hopefully understand it.

The sky was dark, full of thousands upon thousands of stars burning brightly. The starlight was so bright that it cast shadows and illuminated the sky and the barren windy terrain below. Gray dust swirled about two figures walking across the barren landscape, the wind drove against them harshly. One figure was on all fours, and giant sleek black cat with large fangs and a long tail, it padded along soundlessly and it's pointy ears swivelled side to side. It's dark blue eye never stopped moving, completely alert for any danger. The figure walking beside it was human, and he looked to be about fourteen. He wore the dark blue outfit of the Letter Bees, He carried a bag that was stuffed full of letters addressed to many different places. He walked with a confident yet tired stride, and his smooth face showed more weariness than a fourteen-year-old should have. His hair was short and as black as the cat beside him, his eyes looked like a cats eyes as well. He sighed and showed overly sharp canines. At his side was a long gun in a holser, and he kept a hand on it at all times.

He was a Letter Bee, someone who risked their life to travel the unforgiving terrain between the many small towns and larger cities to deliver letters. The black cat at his side was his Dingo, the companion of the Letter Bees. The Dingos protected the Bees in times of danger and when the Gaichuu showed up, a Bee needed their Dingo to help destroy the Heartless monsters. Gaichuu lived in many places between towns, and this is what made a Letter Bees job more dangerous than anything else. Gaishuu were giant insect-like armored monsters that were hollow inside, with no emotion or Heart inside them. They seaked out the Heart of people, and if they found the Heart they were looking for they would devour it, making their victim and empty shell, with no mind or memory or thought of their own, and they usually withered away and died. Gaichuu had no Heart, and devouring Heart did not give them any, only destroyed others. The gun at the Letter Bees side was made to destroy Gaichuu, and it fired shards of the Bees own Heart. The Heart bullets were very powerful and destroyed the mindless Gaichuu if you could shoot it right into their weakspots. Some Gaichuu were very powerful and hard to kill, while others were very easy to down in short amounts of time.

The lone Bee and his Dingo walked long and relentlessly, and as he progressed the sky slowly was getting lighter. It was not the sun rising, but he was getting closer to the man-made sun that hung in the sky and illuminated the capital city. The capital was on a ring shaped island and the highest class citizens lived there, and a vast cold river surrounded the capital. On the other side of the river was another ring-shaped giant island, which was more like a continent, and there the middle class lived in cities and towns of eternal twilight. There was another river, and another ring continent again and that was where the poverty-stricken lowest class lived in constant darkness if not for the stars. You could only go from lower class areas to the higher class aeas with a permit, which was hard to get and not many people could get them, so Letter Bees were some of the few that could go from place to place freely, facing danger the whole time.

"Vashuka, you getting tired yet?" The young Bee said and stopped by a rocky hill. The cat made a "Mrow" noise and sat against a large rock and started licking its paws. The boy sat down beside the cat called Vashuka and sighed. He leened his head back and closed his eyes.

"I wonder where Lag is? He should be near here." He said and opened his eyes to look up at the stars.

"Connor wouldn't be out this way for a long time. . ." He trailed off in thought, Vashuka stopped cleaning to look at him.

"Mroww" The cat said and nudged the Letter Bees head with it's own. He smiled and scratched it between the ears.

The Letter Bee was named Zaji, and he was known among the other Bees for holding grudges and hating easily. He hated Gaichuu more than anything else in the world, and he would do anything to kill them. He delivered letters quickly, so that he could spend more time finding and killing Gaichuu. His gun fired Heart bullets made of shards of his malice and hate, and it worked really well to kill Gaichuu fast. His Dingo Vashuka was very well trained and was his perfect partner in Gaichuu killing and everything else, and he seemed to care more about the cat than most of the people he knew.

"We should get going realy. . .I never been to our next destination before, a place called Angels Tears." Zaji the Letter Bee said and stood up wearily. He looked around and started walking to a forested area in the distance.

"It's near that forest, which they call Devils Fall." Zaji said to Vashuka, and he mrowred at Zaji. "I bet it's a place run by a church."  
Zaji and Vashuka kept going, side by side, both waiting for a Gaichuu or something else to show up.

They arived at Angels Tears, a town full of many little houses and one massive church in the middle. Nearly everyone that was walking about was wearing robes of the church, and wore crosses around their necks. Zaji was right, this looked to be a place run by the church. Everyone topped to stare at Zaji and his Dingo for a moment before going on. A few smiled at him, but most eyed him suspiciously. There weren't many Bees dispatched to this place, so it wasn't that unusualy to seem leery of a newcomer.

"Vashuka stay close and don't look too threatening." Zaji siad quietly, and his cat walked close enough that his flank bruched Zaji's leg with each step. Vashuka lowered his head and tried to look friendly, but without much success. Zaji walked past the robed people to the church, but before he could enter through it's large open door two men stopped him.

"Why are you here?" One asked, a tall man with messy brown hair and a very square face.

"I'm a Letter Bee, and someone has a letter for the High Priest, who I'm assuming can be found in the church. I've also come to pick up any letters." Zaji said coldly, but did not push past the two men like he wanted to. Really he didn't want to give him the letter in case he was part of a anti-government organization called Reverse, which had been attacking Bees to steal letters. The other man was looking at him intently, and the scrutiny was making Zaji uncomfortable.

"I can take it to him and pick up any letters that are to be delivered, they're all kept in the church." The brown-haired man held out his hand, but Zaji didn't give him the letter.

"I'm not supposed to pass letters off, so either I give it to him or no one will." Zaji said and folded his arms, glaring at the man. He glared back and stepped coser so he could look down his large nose at Zaji.

"Fine." He said after a staring contest, and lead Zaji and his Dingo inside the massive church. The walls were covered in paintings of religious figures, and the pews held only a couple people. In front of the pews on a raised platform stood an old man in very expensive looking black silk robes, and around him were mounds of flowers in pots and in wreaths, many piled on top of a casket behind him. He watched Zaji with interest, and the Bee walked right up to him and held out a letter and a piece of paper.

"A delivery from Pius town, you need to sign. Please." Zaji added the 'please' as an afterthought.

"Ah thank you very much. . ." The High Priest said and took the letter and the paper Zaji offered and signed with a long quill that came from some pocket on his robes.

"And are there any letters I can pick up?"

"Yes, a few. Garai can you go get them please?" The Priest said and the man with the square face went to go get the letters.

"Ah, Letter Bee, these are strange times indeed." The old man said after opening and reading the first line of the letter. Zaji said nothing.

"Do you think you could come back here in a week?" He asked the young Bee suddenly, after a minute of silence.

"Maybe, the supervisor might send another Bee though."

"Oh we can't have that, the people hate newcomers and two new people within a week would scare them." He said this cheerily, and looked at Zaji with intense blue eyes. Something about the way he said it made him shiver.

"Okay, whatever." Zaji said and just in time, Garai had come back with a large handful of letters. He shoved them at Zaji and stood beside the Priest, waiting for orders.

"Will you stay here for the night? You look road-weary." The old man said and Zaji deliberated over it. After a moment of thought, he nodded and the Priest smiled.

"Garai, please show him to the Mayflower house, they can take him in for the night. And tell them he has payed for his stay by coming here and giving me something very important." The Priest said and smiled at Zaji, he turned away and started to re-read the letter. Garai motioned for Zaji to follow, and they left the church. Outside, the other man was exactly where they had left him, and he stared at Zaji again.

"Well, Mr. Mayflower, our little Bee is to stay at your house for the night before heading out." Garai said and Zaji sighed inwardly, not liking being called 'little' Bee. looked surprised and strangely happy about Zaji staying at his house, and nodded at Garai.

"Come with me, it'll be supper soon." He said in a low monotone voice and started to walk away. After a moments hesitation, Zaji followed. They walked through Angels Tears, through the little houses and buildings to a tall skinny house with no windows.

"Welcome to the Mayflower house." Mr. Mayflower said and Zaji nodded. "Err, does your cat eat a lot?"

"I have food for him, and he ate recently anyways." Zaji said. Mr Mayflower looked relieved and lead Zaji inside, Zaji motioned for Vashuka to stay outside and so the big cat curled up by the door.

The Mayflower house was very bright on the inside, the walls painted blue and the floor was a light wood, to make up for the lack of windows there were candles everywhere on wall brackets and on every surface. the furniture was either the same light wood as the floor or painted dark green. On the walls were paintings and shelves that held vases of flowers.

"The Mayflower family is all painters and florists." The man explained to Zaji. He lead the Bee through the house and up a few flights of stairs, past closed doors and to a room at the very top. It was small, but very clean and blue. The bed was covered in a few thick blankets. For being so far out they certainly weren't hard done by.

"You should know something. . ." Mr. Mayflower said in a low voice, and Zaji had to lean in to hear what he had to say.

"Our son died not long ago from an illness, and Mrs. Mayflower is still very upset about it, and you look kind of like him so try not to be around her too much and avoid her if you can. She stays in her room or goes out for walks, so it should be easy enough."

"Okay, thanks for the room." Zaji said and Mr. Mayflower left the room and closed the door. Why did he have to stay at the one house where he looked like their departed child? They could have put him somewhere else. But Zaji didn't think much of it, he sat on the bed and wished for a window. There was only one candle in this room, and it barely lit the corners. He was starting to wish he had declined the offer to stay in town for the night, but if he were to come back in a week he figured it would be good to know someone in Angels Tears. Everyone here seemed very wary of Zaji, and suspicous, and many stared at him with strange expressions of disbelief. Maybe he looked a lot like Mr. Mayflowers son and he was popular amongst the townspeople before he died.

Zaji wondered if that casket in the church was holding the Mayflower kid, but he decided not to dwell on it. It was all mildly creepy though. He took off his jacket and hat and lay on the bed, staring at the light wood ceiling.

A while later, knocked and entered, he smiled at Zaji. It gave the Bee goosebumps, but he tried not to show it.

"Supper is ready, will you join us?" He asked and Zaji said nothing for a moment, thinking.

"Mrs. Mayflower is eating at her mothers house." He said, seeming to read Zaji's mind. Zaji nodded and got off the bed and followed Mr. Mayflower down all the stairs back to the first floor and to a room with a large dinning table. At the table sat a girl that was three or so years older than Zaji and she stared at him in shock when he entered. Zaji just nodded to her and ignored her expression, and sat down in the spot Mr. Mayflower gestured to.

"Ione, this is Zaji the Letter Bee, he's staying with us the night. Zaji this is my daughter Ione."

Ione composed herself and greeted Zaji wth a timid hello and stopped staring at him. They ate their dinner in silence, though Zaji was surprised that they didn't pray before eating, since the whole town seemed very pious.

After they ate, Ione got up and left abruptly for the front door. Zaji and Mr. Mayflower got up and they both heard Ione say a little overly loudly, "Hey Mother I didn't you'd be back so soon!" which was obviously a warning to Zaji. grabbed up the plates and Zaji hurried upstairs to his temporary room and closed the door quitly, and sat on the bed. He was full of anger, why did he have to hide? Who cares if he looked like their dead son. He sighed and laid down on the bed, not bothering to get under the covers and just tried to sleep. Vashuka was outside, most likely sleeping, and as soon as it was morning he was going to leave and continue his route. Zaji felt his eyelids droop and become heavy, and eventually he fell asleep.

Zaji woke up very sudenly, the sound of the door being opened was quiet but he was very much ready to fight. He sat up and stared into the complete darkness, the lone candle in this windowless room had burnt out and there was no light at all. Well, no light until the door opened and in walked a figure holding a candle. It was the tall, pale form of Ione, the Mayflowers daughter. She whispered behind her, and in slinked Vashuka soundlessly. He sat beside the bed and Ione sat at the foot of it. Zaji sat up too, and watched Ione's face without saying anything. She handed him a small round mirror, then a six by four inch painting of a boy.

"Thats my dead brother, Rend." She said very quietly. Zaji looked from her to the picture, and saw why everyone stared at him. This boy, Rend, had looked very much like Zaji. Or was it the other way around?

"But you know, you don't really look like him if you look at it long enough." Ione said again and smiled a very sad smile at Zaji.

Zaji looked from the picture to the mirror, and he started to see the differences. Rend had a longer thinner nose, his forehead was taller by a bit, and his ears stuck out. His hair and jawline were the same, and the chin, but the longer Zaji looked at his own reflection and the picture of Rend, he started to wonder how everyone seemed to think he looked just like the boy. The biggest difference though were the eyes. Rend had very soft, kind eyes that were a light blue, and Zaji's darker blue eyes looked harsher, and catlike.

"You are nothing like Rend, in looks or personality." Ione said and Zaji looked up at her. She looked at Zaji's chest, which was partway bare from his shirt coming undon in his sleep.

"He had no scars like you, he had a perfect life on the outside with no worries. He had no danger, it seemed." Ione sighed and looked away from Zaji.

"He killed himself, to get away from a future he didn't want, and all the people here were forcing it upon him," She continued and seemed like she was trying not to cry, Zaji remained silent, though deliberated over trying to cheer her up. And hadn't Mr. Mayflower said his son died from an illness? Why would he lie to Zaji?

"And thats why mother and a lot of other people are so worked up over his death, their desperate for anything to ease their pain. Very desperate." She looked at Zaji and an urgent expression replaced her sorrow.

"Zaji, in a couple hours everyone will wake up, you need to get out of here NOW." She said and leaned towards him.

"Why?" Zaji finally found his voice, and it was full of surprise.

"Their desperate, and many here think in a different, sick way than most others. You need to go before they wont let you, and before Mother sees you!" She was starting to sound hysterical.

"But what about when I need to come back in a week?" Zaji said, though he was about ready to never come back again. The way Ione talked was scaring him.

"Bing another Bee or two when you come back. Please come back though, and take me away from here!" Ione said and stood up, her face full of anger and sadness.

"Why do you want to leave?" Zaji stood up as well, and he had to look very far up to see her face. She bowed her head and a curtain of black hair covered her pale features and blue eyes.

"This is not the life for me, and I wont follow Rend, I want out alive." She said. "You need to get going now though, please before anyone wakes up!" She put the candle down on the bedside table and picked up Zajis jacket that was on the floor and handed it to him. Without further ado, Zaji put it on quickly, and his hat and scarf. Last on went his gloves, and Ione went to the door and held his bag for him. He put it over his shoulder and stood beside her.

"Promise that nest time your here, you'll take me away from here?" Ione said, and Zaji nodded.

"Yeah, there is definatly something wrong with this place. Thanks." And without another word or look, Ione led the way out, putting a hand over the candle she carried to block most of the dim light. Zaji stepped where she stepped to avoid creaks in the floor, and Vashuka prowled without any noise. They made it all the way to the first floor without a sound, and no trouble, Right when Ione put her hand on the doorknob however, a noise behind them made them whip around. Standing in the doorway they had just come from was a tall woman with black hair and blue eyes, a long thin nose and a high forehead. She held a candle, which she dropped as she stared at Zaji's face. From the family resemblance of Rend and Ione, this must have been their mother, Mrs. Mayflower.

"Go!" Ione whispered to Zaji and opened the door for him, he left quickly with Vashuka trailing behind.

"Rend!" Zaji heard the womans scream and started to run, a strange feeling of urgency overcoming him. He wasn't scared, but he was very worried for Ione, and wondered about Rend. He ran past houses and saw lights turn on, and he glanced back to see Ione trying to drag her mother inside the house, but she tried to follow Zaji, shouting her sons name over and over again ina desperate wail. It sent chills up Zajis spine, and he wondered again about Rend. What kind of life would they have forced upon him that would make him kill himself just to get away? And Ione was desperate to get away as well, but not as desperate as Rend had been.

Zaji silently promised to Ione that he would get her away from here, and learn what exactly was so terrible about the Angels Tears village.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Letter Bee or the characters herein other than the people of Angels Tears, blah blah blah, legal jargon bit, whatever its all in the first chapter, I don't need to repeat myself over and over again!  
This chapter has a both fluffy and angsty section, 'cause Zaji needs some fluff here an there to balance out the angst!

The Bee Hive in Yuusari was full of Bees running about, it was much more crowded than normal and it seemed as if every single Bee was here. Even so, it didn't take long for Zaji to locate his two friends who were sitting on a bench by the stairs. Zaji and Vashuka walked up to them and the two looked up at him. One was as tall as Zaji but much bigger, he was quite round and his face was usually smiling, or at least content. He had short tidy hair and small, kind eyes. Beside him on the floor was a lazy bloodhound that was his Dingo called Gasu.

"Hey Zaji! How's it going!" He said and Zaji sat between him and the other boy.

"A little confusing, Connor, but otherwise fine." Zaji replied and leaned his head back, closing his cat-like eyes.

"What's wrong?" The other boy asked. He was smaller and younger looking than Connor or Zaji, his hair was unusually silver, and the one eye that wasn't hidden beneath his thick bangs was amber. His face made him look what many would call cute in a childish sort of way, and he was very eager to do the right thing and help people.

"Hey Lag, where's Niche?" Zaji asked, mildly ignoring the question he was asked. Niche was Lag's Dingo.

"Oh she got injured so someone that's special to her is taking care of her. I'm not allowed to go on dangerous deliveries now for a while." Lag said and looked very worried about his dear Dingo. A lot of Bees and Dingos got hurt on the job, Zaji did lots. It was common, but Lag was still a bit new to being a Bee. Zaji patted Vashuka on the head, gad his own Dingo rarely got hurt.

"So what was wrong Zaji?" Connor asked again. Zaji sighed and stalled for a few seconds, wondering how to word it.

"Well. . ." He began, and Lag and Connor leaned in closer since Zaji had lowered his voice. "I went to a place way out there called Angels Tears. I had a letter to the High Priest and it was important, so I went there quick. But when I got there, everyone stared at me weird. . .  
. . .And so Ione's mother was screaming 'Rend' over and over again and I ran away, since it was waking up everyone in the town. I got here after some routine deliveries and now I'm sending in my report." Zaji finished his story to a wide eyed Lag and a Connor whose mouth was gaping open.

"Your going back there right?" Lag asked. Zaji nodded.

"Then I'll come with you!"

"You don't even have a Dingo right now!" Zaji said.

"But you need a Bee or two to come with you right? I can help, whether Niche is here or not!" Lag sounded almost defiant, and Zaji sighed, suppressing mild anger. Lag really was eager to help people after all.

"I'll come too!" Connor said.

"I can't convince either of you to not come can I?" Zaji said after a moment, sounding oddly sad somehow.

"Nope, we're coming whether you like it or not!" Connor said and gave Zaji a huge grin.

"Well, I should hand in my report. See you around!" Zaji said and stood up abruptly, Connor waved and started talking with Lag happily. Zaji smiled, forgetting the weird people of Angels Tears and all about Rend and Ione as he looked back at Connor and Lag. But it didn't last long and he was at the supervisors office. He normally didn't hand in reports directly to the supervisor, but there had been orders given that stated that any town that might prove difficult for Bees in the future were to be reported on, and Zaji felt Angels Tears would be difficult indeed. He knocked sharply on the door, and a few seconds later someone said 'come in'. Zaji entered the large office and walked up to the big desk where a man sat behind.

Ralgo Lloyd was the supervisor of the Bee Hive, and he was starting to get quite old indeed. Full of wrinkles and white hair, he was very kind to all the Bees and quite understanding. He smiled at Zaji, who didn't smile back.

"Here's my report about the town called Angels Tears, which I believe may be difficult for Bees. I'm going back there in a few days, and I request that I take Connor Culh and Lag Seeing with me as backup." Zaji said very formally and waited for the supervisors response.

"Hm. And why are you going back so soon?" Ralgo said after a moment of thought, then he started reading Zaji's report.

"I was asked to come back for a reply to the person that wrote to the High Priest. And I think this place needs further investigation." Zaji had decided to leave out the part about Ione asking him to promise to take her away from Angels Tears. Ralgo would find inside the report about how unfriendly the people were, and there was something very wrong with them all but he didn't know what yet. He did after some thought put in the part about Rend, and that was why Zaji himself would have better luck going back there than anyone else.

"Thank you Zaji, and I'll be sure that Connor and Lag are free to go with you." Ralgo said and continued to read Zaji's report rapidly. Zaji left without another word, and found Connor and Lag right outside the door to the office both looking excited.

"Okay you're coming with me, we leave tomorrow. We'll also do some normal deliveries on our way there, and we'll arrive there about when their expecting me." Zaji said and his two friends smiled at him. They parted ways after walking together back to the main floor and out the door, Connor and Lag waved as they both went off in the same direction. Zaji made his way home slowly, giving himself a days rest before he had to go back to Angels Tears.

As he spent the day at home with Vashuka at his side, he reflected on all his time as a Bee and even before that. He never had many, if any friends, and his only family had died long ago. He was lucky to have Connor and Lag, and Vashuka; and he was nervous about their journey, hoping that none of them would get hurt by the strange people of that town. His mind wandered back to Rend. Didn't that kid have at least one person he loved enough to stay alive for? What about his sister? He had lefter her with no hope of her ever seeing him again, made her sad and probably angry, and stuck alone with her odd family and town. This made Zaji suddenly very angry. He didn't care about Rend or anyone else in that blasted Angels Tears except for maybe Ione, but the thought that someone would leave behind the ones that they love by choice made a deep anger and hatred awake inside Zaji. He slammed his fist on the table he was beside, startling Vashuka and a small white cat that was on his lap. Zaji clenched his eyes shut and bowed his head.

"Damnit why'd they have to go like that?!" Zaji said loudly to no one in particular, and he wasn't talking about Rend. "Why'd they have to leave me here. . ." Zaji put the cat from his lap on the floor and got up and left his small drafty home, leaving his jacket and hat and scarf behind even though it was cold out. He went outside and slammed the door shut, leaving Vashuka inside. Zaji walked quickly in no real direction, aimlessly roaming. He was full of both anger and sorrow, and he tried to drown out his sorrow with anger. Anger was something he could deal with, something he knew well, but he couldn't handle sorrow too well. He didn't have the time or desire to be sad, it was useless to him. But try as he might, the sorrow started to overpower his anger. He thought over and over about those that left him, and about how they died and he couldn't handle not being able to do anything about it. He stopped where he was and closed his eyes again.

"Zaji, aren't you cold?" A girl's voice made Zaji jump, and he realized he had walked far away from home already. He looked down beside him and saw it was Sylvette Suede that spoke, the girl that was Lag's age in a wheelchair, she had opened her home to Lag a while ago, and Zaji had visited a few times since. She had a bunch of bags on her lap, and she was looking worriedly at Zaji. He sighed.

"I'm fine." Zaji said dismissively.

"You don't looked fine." Sylvette said.

"Don't worry about it."

"Why don't you come over to my place for dinner? Connors visiting as well, he got some meat as a tip for delivering a letter to the butcher from the butchers son." Sylvette didn't press Zaji for anything, but she did have a subtle way of trying to cheer him up.

"That would be great, thanks Sylvette." Zaji said and grabbed a few bags from her lap so she could move more easily. She smiled at him and lead the way to her house, which wasn't far.

Once they arrived, Lag and Connor greeted Zaji happily, and helped Sylvette with the bags. They also tried to help her cook, but Lag got in the way and Connor was sampling everything so Sylvette just scolded them and told them to wait at the table. Zaji listened to them chat about the interesting people they met before on deliveries, and he smiled. Yes, he was happy to have them as friends, and that they were coming with him when he went back to Angels Tears. His sorrow faded, and his anger dulled considerably, replaced mostly by contentment and happiness.

He didn't notice how Sylvette looked over to make sure he was happier than he was before, and smile when she saw him having fun. She had worried about him when she first met him, since he seemed so angry all the time. But under that anger, she saw depression; the same kind she felt sometimes. But she had Lag here to cheer her up, and Zaji lived alone as far as she knew. Well, alone except for the cats he appeared to be taking care of all the time. She found it odd that someone who appeared outwardly cold-hearted and showed a tough face to everyone except his friends cared so much about the stray cats of Yuusari. He must have spent most of his paycheck on feeding his little furry friends. She remembered how Lag told her how angry Zaji was when he thought Dr. Thunderhead had dissected all his cats, and how happy he was when he found out that the Dr. had only caught them and kept them for a while to get rid of a spreadable sickness they had. Zaji had hated the Dr. until then, and now they seem to get along a bit better. As long as the Dr. doesn't go near the cats anyways.

Sylvettes musings were interrupted by the food being ready, and so she served dinner to the Bees and herself. She smiled at them all, happy that at least they all were happy at the moment, and she hoped that Zaji wouldn't dwell over what was making him sad too much.

Zaji walked home quickly, wanting to get out of the cold. He regretted leaving without anything warm on, but regrets did nothing to keep him warm. Once he got home and was in the door, Vashuka and the little white cat came up to him, purring. He pet them both and smiled. He was glad to come home to something, even if it wasn't even human.

"Okay Vashuka, we need sleep, we're heading out early tomorrow." Zaji said and both the cats 'mrowed' at him.

Zaji woke up much earlier than he would have liked, but try as he might, he could not fall asleep again. He sighed and went about his tiny house, petting the few cats that stayed inside overnight and opening the back door. He prepared and placed bowls of milk and food for the cats, and soon the back alley was full of strays. He crouched down and pet them, ignoring the cool air going through his thin shirt.

"Excuse me are all these yours?" The voice of an elderly woman said and Zaji looked up to see a very old woman wearing mounds of shawls and scarves.

"Sort of." Zaji said and stood up. The old lady smiled at him.

"My granddaughter loves cats, and we can't find anyone that has a stray or any kittens, and my daughter told me about a young boy that takes care of all the strays and you seem to be him. Do you have a kitten you can part with?" She asked very kindly.

"Can you wait here a moment?" Zaji said and without waiting for an answer he went inside through the back door, and a moment later he came back holding an orange ball of fluff. It mewled and purred and he handed it to the old woman.

"She has no name yet so you can pick whatever you want." Zaji said and the old lady smiled.

"Thank you so much! She will be so happy with this little one! How may I repay you?" She was very happy with the little furball.

"Whatever, don't worry about it." Zaji said and watched the smiling old lady walk away, she waved when she got to the end of the alley and then she was out of sight.

"Wow Zaji there's so many cats!" Another person came into view where the old lady had gone out of sight, it was the round shape of Connor. Luckily his Dingo Gasu the bloodhound wasn't with him, or all the cats would be scared out of their bent down and pet one that was eating, which promptly growled at him. He stood up quickly and laughed.

"I woke up extra early and couldn't sleep." Connor said.

"Me neither." Zaji replied and leaned against the doorframe.

"Are you worried at all about what Rend's mother might do?" Connor said after a moment.

"No, I don't think she would do anything, and Ione was worried about what everyone else would do, so I think I got to worry about all them instead."

"You wont be alone in worrying about it." Connor said and smiled at Zaji.

"Thanks Connor."

"Hey Zaji, Connor, good morning!" The voice of Lag said and they both turned their heads to see him walk up tp them, with Connors Dingo Gasu behind him. All the cats growled and hissed, and Gasu just whined at them. They all ran off down the other end of the alley, or into Zajis open door.

"Oops sorry." Lag said and smiled sheepishly at Zaji. Zaji just shrugged.

"Well, you both look ready to go." Zaji said. Lag nodded and Connor grinned. "I'll go get ready and we can go." Zaji went in through the door and left it open, Connor and Lag could hear him talking to Vashuka, trying to wake him up. A moment later, a sleepy Dingo exited and stretched, showing his large curved claws. He yawned and his teeth glinted.

"Certainly more ferocous looking than my Dingo." Connor said a bit wistfully. He looked down at Gasu, who flopped on the ground and rolled onto his back.

"Okay lets go!" Zaji came out the door, his dark blue Letter Bee uniform on, his bag at his side and his Heart gun in its holster. He and his two friends left Yuusari, ready for whatever happened on the journey ahead.


	3. Chapter 3

I do no own Letter Bee or the. . .oh whatever, go read the part about the legal bit in the first chapter. On with the story!

The flat terrain that stretched between the three Bees and their destination was quite windy, dust was being driven up in thick clouds of gray. Above them the stars glared brightly, the sky beneath the twinkling masses was dark. Zaji, Lag and Connor were only a few hours away from Angels Tears, and they were all getting a bit tense. Lag wanted to know what was wrong with Angels Tears, and if he could help them. Connor worried for Zaji, who looked just like a boy that had killed himself to get away from the people in Angels Tears. The people in the little village had all acted strangely around Zaji when he came there alone nearly a weak before, and a girl called Ione had warned Zaji to not stay long and that someone may try to do something to him. Zaji himself worried about Ione, who had promised him to take her away from Angles Tears, since she didn't wan't to follow her brother Rend and kill herself to get away.

"If they attack us should we attack back?" Connor asked suddenly, nearly making Zaji jump.

"I would." He replied. "Just don't attack first, that makes it look like we're at fault."

Connor and Lag nodded, but both of them looked worried. Eventually they came close enough to see Angels Tears, and the dust clouds had died down. The little stone houses and dirt roads were dwarfed by the huge church that stood tall in the middle of town. The bell started to toll as they entered, and the few people that were out of the buildings stopped to stare at Zaji and his two companions. Then the townsfolk hurried into buildings and one person ran full speed to the church, looking back at Zaji.

"Uh-oh, this dosen't look good." Zaji said.

"Yeah, we should get the girl and go quick." Connor said.

"Lag," Zaji said and turned to Lag, who nodded, "Go find a tall house that had no windows and ask for Ione, tell her I sent you and come back quick. Connor stay with me."

Lag ran off, and Connor told Gasu to follow him, so his Dingo trailed after the silver-haired boy. Connor ans Zaji stopped walking and stood side by side in the middle of a road, with Vashuka prowling back and forth behind them. People started to gather around them, and they all stared. Someone shouted from farther away, and into view came a group of people that were lead by Rend's and Ione's mother, Mrs. Mayflower. Behind her she had Mr. Mayflower, the High Priest, the square-faced man Garai, and a few Zaji didn't know. The strange part was they all carried Heart bullet guns. The High Priest said loudly to a man in the crowd to go get Ione. Zaji hoped that Lag found her in time, and that he had told him to run away with her instead of come back to Zaji.

"Rend. . ." Mrs. Mayflower said as she stared at Zaji, and made a move towards him. Connor stepped in the way though, which surprised both Zaji and the woman.

"He's not Rend, he's Zaji. We've come for any letters you may have." Connor said loudly.

"He will BE Rend soon though, and we'll have our wonderful boy back." The High Priest said, his cold eyes twinkling strangely.

"What?" Zaji said. How would he be Rend? That didn't make much sense. Ione was right, these people were desperate.

"Get off me!" Ione's voice came from behind the crowd, and a couple men dragged her over to her mother. Behind her and her captors, another two men held Lag, and one came behind them holding Gasu, who was struggling madly but to no avail. Mrs. Mayflower pointed to Zaji, and a few people from the crowd rushed foreward.

"Hold it right there!" Zaji shouted and drew his gun and pointed it at the person nearest to him and Connor.

"Oh Rend don't you understand?" The High Priest said, and Zaji glared at him.

"Rend, we all love you. . ." Mrs. Mayflower said, and everyone around her nodded. " You were to be the next High Priest, my dear son. Everyone liked being around you, everyone wanted you to be the High Priest and you would have been perfect for it. . .We all need you Rend!"

"I am not Rend!" Zaji shouted.

"Mother leave him be!" Ione begged, glaring at her mother.

"Silence!" Mrs. Mayflower shouted at her daughter.

Zaji was distracted with the exchange going on, so he didn't noticed the person that jumped at him until it was too late. Vashuka growled and then yowled, and it appeared that a coupled people got the drop on him too. Zaji fell to the ground, with a very heavy big man on top of him.

"Get off!" He said and struggled to free and arm so he could hit his attacker, but this man quite a good hold on him. He heard Connor start to say something, but he was cut off and a loud thump told him that he was taken down as well. The man on Zaji got up and pulled up the Bee with him, and another came over to hold his other arm. the held on tight, and Zaji could do nothing to free himself. Two men were also holding onto Connor, and they dragged him away from Zaji and towards Lag. Mrs. Mayflower and the High Priest walked up to Zaji, and the High Priest bent down a bit to look Zaji in the eye.

"Don't struggle Rend, and you wont get hurt." He said all too happily.

"I am not Rend you stupid-" Zaji began, but the High Priest drew his hand back and slapped him across the cheek, cutting off Zaji's sentence. Zaji glared at him. The old man motioned to the men holding Zaji and lead the way to the church. Everyone else followed, all smiling eerily. Mrs. Mayflower walked right beside Zaji and kept smiling at him, so he glared his evilest glare at her.

The strange procession didn't enter the church like Zaji thought, but went around to the back. There was no door, but there were chains on the walls, and the two men holding Zaji dragged him to the wall and shoved his back against it. They chained his wrists, smiled at him, and left to join the large group of people that was gathered around in a semi-circle. Ione, Lag and Connor were still being held, and Mrs. Mayflower stood by her daughter, whispering something to her. Ione kept shaking her head and started to cry.

"Bring the Heart bullet guns. The High Priest said loudly, and a group of people ran off into around the church and out of sight.

"What are you going to do?" Zaji asked angrily. He really hated being tied up like this, and the moment he was free he swore he would get his hands on that Priest and make him wish he were dead.

"Don't worry Rend, we'll have you back to normal soon." The Priest said and walked up to Zaji.

"We're going to shoot Rend's Heart into you." He said very quietly to Zaji.

"And what does that accomplish?" Zaji said through gritted teeth.

"Ten Heart bullet guns, shot by people who have lots of memories of Rend, with letter bullets about Rend and some that Rend himself wrote, all shot into you should put enough of Rends Heart into you, that you will be Rend."

"And what happens to my Heart?" Zaji said, also very quietly. If he understood what the Priest said, they were going to get enough of Rend's Heart into him that he will take on Rend's personality and memories. Could that even happen?

"It will be shoved out probably, gotten rid of and destroyed by Rend's Heart. You will BE Rend soon, don't worry about that." And the Priest walked away. Zaji stared after him, and barely noticed the few people that came back, each holding a bunch of Heart bullet guns. Lag and Connor stared at them with disbelief, and Ione cried more. Mrs. Mayflower tired to give Ione a gun, but the girl shook her head and fell to her knees. Nine people were holding Heart guns now, while the tenth lay at Iones side. All nine people loaded their guns with letter bullets, and took aim. Zaji finally found his voice to protest.

"So just like that your going to try and get rid of my Heart so you can Rend back!?" Zaj shouted at them and they stopped. Lag and Connors eyes widened.

"You are Rend." The Priest said.

"No! I am nothing like Rend! Don't you realise what you're doing? If you succeed your basically killing me, like you killed Rend!"

"Shutup! We did nothing to hurt Rend!" Rends mother shouted hysterically.

"You are all the reason he killed himself, and now your going to try and bring him back! It wont work, I wont become Rend!" Zaji didn't know if it would work or not, but he didn't want to find out.

"Don't worry. Take aim!" The Priest siad loudly and the nine people raised their guns.

"NO!" Ione, Lag and Connor shouted, right when the nine people shouted "For Rend!"

And they fired, all aiming at Zajis chest. Nine brilliant Heart bullets shot towards Zaji, nine sets of memories and letters full of Heart about Rend raced to him. He didn't close his eyes, and he didn't struggle. Time seemed to slow, and he looked at Connor and Lag and Ione. Lag and Ione were crying and Connor looked close to tears as well. Then he felt a terrible blinding pain, and extreme heat in his chest. He didn't scream or cry out, just clenched his eyes and mouth shut. The pain spread through his body, and his chest ached terribly.

And then images flooded his mind, all the memories they had of the boy Rend. Scenes of the church filled his head, everyone sitting on the pews all listening to the High Priest preach. A young boy that looked like a bit different Zaji at a younger age sat by Mr. and Mrs. Mayflower, fidgeting. Then the scene changed, to the Priest talking to Rend, telling him about what it will be like to be the High Priest once he was old enough. Then it went to a scene of eating dinner with his family, and the images starting going faster and faster. All through it, Zaji felt the pain in his chest, and he wished for it to stop. He felt the emotions of everyone that had shot at him, and the emotions they felt in their memories of Rend. After what felt like and eternity, the images stopped, but the pain didn't. He fell limp, hanging by his wrists in the chains. Someone came and unchained him and he fell to the ground.

"Did it work?" The High Priest said and bent over Zaji.

"Rend!" Mrs. Mayflower said loudly, she was st his side. He opened his eyes and stared at her with a strange expression.

"Rend?" She said more quietly.

Zaji realised that he didn't know who she was talking about. The name sounded familiar, but not quite right. Memories filled his head again, and he realized who he was staring at.

"Mother?" He said quietly. She smiled and the High Priest faced the crowd around them.

"It worked!"He said loudly and the whole crowd cheered. Ione and the two Bees didn't move, just stared at Zaji with tears in their eyes.

"How could they. . .?" Connor whispered. The three watched in silence as a tall burly man stepped forward and picked up Zaji. Or was it Rend now? He carried away the boy, while many people followed, all laughing and smiling and cheering.

"Let's lock them up." A woman who stayed behind with a few others said.

"Even Ione?" Asked a young man that looked to be Iones age. He had a disturbed expression, and looked a little shake by the whole event.

"Yeah, for now anyways." And so the people left behind dragged Lag, Connor and Ione to a small house nearby, and into the basement they went where they were locked in. They didn't fight back much, all in shock. Once they were locked into the cold, dark room they all sat in silence, and no one spoke for a long time. Lag still cried silently, but Ione had stopped and just stared straight ahead.

"How could they do that to Zaji?" Lag asked. He had just stopped crying, and now looked back and forth between Ione and Connor.

"They destroyed his Heart. . ." Ione said miserably. "Just to try and get back someone who never wanted to see them again in the first place."  
They fell silent, and all of them wondered if they could ever get Zaji back. After a long while, the door was unlocked and they all jumped up, a man came in and threw in a bag that held something very wriggly. he threw in another bag, that growled when it hit the floor and he promptly shut the door. Connor rushed to one bag and opened it. Out came his Dingo Gasu, who wagged his tail and jumped around Connor. Ione moved forward and untied the other bag, and out came a very angry big black cat. Vashuka prowled back and forth and growled, ears laid back and the fur along his back stood on end. Though after a while, Vashuka seemed to give up and just fell to the floor and made an odd sighing noise. The two Bees and Dingos, and the girl Zaji wanted to rescue sat together, all looking defeated.

The boy woke up slowly, the strong pain in his chest disturbing his rest. He opened his eyes and saw a very familiar-looking light wood ceiling above him, and blue walls around him. A single candle illuminated the small room, and beside his bed there was a chair where a woman sat, and she was currently asleep. His memories conflicted, telling him that was his mother, and another faint memory told him he had no mother anymore. He felt confused, and realised he didn't remember his own name. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest intensified and he flopped back down and made a small sound of pain. It woke up the woman, who glance around groggily and then smiled at him.

"Rend, my son, how do you feel?" She said kindly.

"Mother?" He asked. Rend didn't quite sound right, but if that was his mother and she said he was Rend, then he must be Rend.

"Yes?" She asked and leaned close to him, smiling strangely.

". . .N-nothing." He said and shook his head. His memories told him that was his mother, but he felt an odd ache in his chest that wasn't related to the pain he felt. Her face was familiar, but wrong somehow. Jumbled emotions of hatred and sorrow filled him when he looked at her, and it confused him greatly. He closed his eyes and tried to sort through his emotions, and strange images filled his head. He saw himself younger, sitting between two beds that each held a vacant-eyed parson, he felt very angry and sad, and someone was talking but he couldn't hear what they saying. His Heart told him that they were his parents, but his memories told him that the woman by his bed was his mother, and that his father should be near as well.

If his Heart said one thing, and his memories said another, than which was true?


	4. Chapter 4

Well, if I have any readers at this point, you know the drill. Blah blah, do not own, yada yada yada, first chapter has it all.

In the small town of Angels Tears, that laid in the middle of no-where, next to the forest called Devils Fall, strange things were happening. A boy that died is seemingly back from the dead, three people and two animals are being held captive, and everyone is happy about it. And in denial. Zaji had been shot with nine Heart bullet guns with the Hearts and memories of Rend, and it had now been nearly four days. Everything passed in a blur for him, he barely remembered what happened an hour ago, and his memories were getting mixed up. The High Priest had been visiting him a lot as he lay in bed recovering from an odd chest pain that no one told him how he got. That old man with the icy blue eyes kept telling him what he should and shouldn't do as the High Priest, and how to deal with people. The boy didn't want anything to do with it, and that was something both his memories and his Heart agreed on. As much as Mrs. and Mr Mayflower tried, the boy was still uneasy around them, though he did call them mother and father. Rend, or Zaji, was having difficulties being the person they wanted him to be, and everyone had different ways of trying to make him remember them and be the Rend they always wanted. They also had a tendency to slap him across the face when he mistakenly did something that Rend wouldn't do normally, or hit him on the back or shoulder. He forgot these incidents quickly, and then wondered where he received the bruises later.

He woke up the fourth day of being Rend, and like always he couldn't remember who, or where he was. He felt the same dull pain in his chest, and sat up slowly. There was no one in his room this time, and the candle on the table beside him was burnt low in a pool of wax. Cautiously, he got out of bed and walked to the door barefooted. It wasn't locked, so he left the room behind and went in search of someone to help him remember who he was. The house was empty, and eerily silent and dark. The lack of windows made him feel suddenly claustrophobic, and he went to the front door. He opened it enough to peek out of, and saw no one in the street ahead. He sighed, and almost went back upstairs when he had the sudden urge to leave this house as fast as he could. He felt anger rise up in his chest, and for a moment the image of faceless people pointing guns at him filled his head and he shut his eyes. When he opened them, he walked out the door without hesitation. He ignored the cold, even though he wore only a long thin shirt that went down to his knees.

The wind moaned lowly, drifting through the streets and between every building. He walked slowly, in no real direction, watching the stars above. They glinted and shone brightly in the dark sky, and gave just enough light for him to see clearly. Suddenly he felt a stabbing pain in his chest, and he nearly fell to his knees. He gasped for air and clutched his chest, and staggered to the side of a building to rest against. It faded slowly, ebbing away down to a dull ache that never seemed to leave him. He looked around, and realised he couldn't remember where he was. He sighed in exasperation, and decided to go knock on the door of the house he leened against. Whoever lived there could tell him where he lived, and point him in the right direction he was sure.

He knocked on the door sharply, and after a few second knocked again. No one answered, so they must be out. He turned to go, hoping the next house would have someone inside that could help him. Then he felt the strongest urge to knock again, and his memories faltered, showing him something that didn't fit with Rend's memories.

He was walking between two other people, and they all wore the same uniform. A big black cat walked behind them, alongside a bloodhound. He focused on the big cat, and he remembered the cat's name.

"Vashuka. . ." He said aloud suddenly, and his Heart and chest ached again stronger than before. He turned back to the doorstep he was about to leave, and instead of knocking he turned the doorhandle and entered quickly. The room was quite dark, only a lone window let a bit of starlight through. After a moment, he walked through, passing by a table with many chairs around it, and walking quietly and slowly around a corner. There was a hall with a few doors, and he was drawn to the nearest one on the right. He inched towards it slowly, and placed his hand on the knob.

"What are you doing, Rend?" A voice behind him made him jump and turn. There was a tall man with a square face, and his memories told him it was Garai.

"Ahh. . ."

"Oh hey, you must be cold! Let's get you back home. Follow." Garai motioned for him to follow, and when he didn't move, he grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him along. Garai always treated him a bit roughly, and smiled all the time. He had to wonder if there was something wrong with Garais head or not.

They left the house, and the boys Heart ached again, and he felt disappointment. But why? The name he said out loud to himself had vanished from his memory, and now he wondered why he even entered the house in the first place. Garai lead him back home, and at the front door was Mrs. Mayflower, his mother. She looked both frightened and angry, and Garai wordlessly let go of him and walked away. The woman stared at him for a moment, and he felt anger and fear at her. Fear, because she was so angry looking and he knew what would happen to him, and anger for some unkown reason. He realy had to get his emotions straight.

He walked inside past her when she held the door open for him, and was about to hurry upstairs.

"Rend!" She said quietly but it cut into his ears like a scream. He turned to face her, and she was standing close.

"How could you leave the house and scare me like that!" She said and pulled her hand back. The boy did not flinch or close his eyes, just stared at her with anger. His Heart was furious, his memories terrified. When she hit him, he staggered sideways a bit and she struck him again, across the shoulder.

"Go to your room!" She nearly screamed at him, and he walked quickly up the stairs and into his room. She followed and he heard the lock click behind him. A new candle had been placed at his table, beside the old one. He sank onto the bed and sighed. His Heart ached and he forgot already what he was punished for. He lay down and closed his eyes, feeling sleepy despite the fact he had woken from a long sleep not even an hour ago.

He dreamed strange dreams, shadowy figures and dull voices filled his mind. His Heart ached, and anger filled him. He saw a big, sleek, black cat prowling beside himself in a strang uniform of all dark blues. Beside him was a boy the same age as him, but a lot bigger around. He had a bloodhound beside him, and he appeared to be eating an apple. He held out his hand and offered the apple him.

"Connor. . ." He mumbled in his sleep, very quietly. How did he know Connor? Were they friends or just worked together? Were those Letter Bee outfits? These question raced around his mind, but he still slept deeply. The dream changed, and he forgot about Connor and the cat.

This time he saw nine people in front of him, and he saw their faces. It was Mr. and Mrs. Mayflower, the Priest, Garai, and a few others. They aimed at him, and he heard a few people shout 'NO!' loudly at the same time the nine gunners shouted 'for Rend'. He felt a blinding pain in his chest, and he awoke suddenly. He held his chest and gasped for air, and he realised that the people he was living with were not his mother and father, and he was not Rend. He had come here, but for what reason he couldn't remember. He was not Rend, but he looked like Rend did. They wanted him to be Rend, and so shot him with Hearts of Rend. But who was he? He still couldn't remember, but he knew he had to get out there as fast as he could.  
He crept to his door and pressed an ear against it. He heard voices downstairs, like the Mayflowers had visitors. He tried the knob quietly, but he had to get past the lock first. He went to the table beside the bed, and opened it. There was nothing he could use inside, and a further search of the room revealed there was absolutely nothing he could have used. There wasn't even a change a clothes, which annoyed him since he didn't want to be running around in just the stupid shirt he had on. He could probably break the door down if he tried, but everyone would hear that.

He remembered suddenly that everyone went to the church every morning, every day. They went before work and after breakfast, and all listened to the Priest preach his twisted words. Rend had to go every day he was alive, and he hated it. And they all wanted him to be the next Priest, to preach to them every single morning the words that Rend himself did not believe. Well, he would escape, and never come back again! He just had to wait for tomorrow, when they all went to the church. And with that plan in place, he sat on the bed and waited, not wanting to sleep lest he forget everything again. He remained still, staring into nothingness. He thought about his Heart, and wondered if he could get it back. He thought about the memories of Rend that seemed to have replaced his own, and felt sorrow for losing himself in them. He was a nobody now, with no name or memory of himself. All he had now was his anger, and he planned to put it to good use.

He stayed awake the entire day and night, and at one point, someone came to make sure the door was still locked before they went to bed. He was tired again, but did not lay down and instead got up and walked back and forth around the small room.

End of chapter  
Cliffhanger, muahahaha!


	5. Chapter 5

Do not own, read the first part of the first chapter for legal thing.

People walked alongside each other in groups, all walking slowly to the large church in the middle of town. They chatted happily, and many asked the Mayflowers when Rend will come to the church every morning with them. They replied 'tomorrow', but no one realised that the one they called Rend was in the middle of escaping.

He heard Mr. and Mrs. Mayflower leave the house, and waited a minute before breaking the door down. It wasn't that hard, just took a couple tried and the lock broke loudly. The pain in his chest was stronger today than yesterday, but he ignored it. He went all the way downstairs as fast as he could, and started looking for stuff to take with him when he got away. There were many candles in the main room with the dinning table, it was quite bright compared to the rest of the house, so he looked there first. The cupboards only had dishes, and hardly any food, so he searched the pantry room. There were cans of fruit and soup, and on the top shelf a large suitcase. He grabbed a chair quickly, rushing back to the pantry as fast he could without tripping. His escape mattered on time, the Priest spoke in the church for only ten minutes or so, and then everyone took another ten minutes to get to work and stop visiting each other. He stood on the chair and pulled the suitcase down, and unlocked it quickly. He froze, starring at what was inside. It was a uniform of dark blue jacket, pants, hat and gloves. On the hat was a bee outlined in metal studs, and his Heart and chest ached strongly then. Images came back to him, of wandering barren lands and harsh terrains alone except for a large black cat at his side.

"I'm a Letter Bee." He said out loud quietly, and then hurried to get the uniform on. He tossed aside the long white shirt he wore when he found a smaller one that fit perfectly, and in under a minute he had the entire outfit on. There was a matching bag that was quite large, for carrying letters. It still had a bunch of letters, and so he could only carry a few cans of food. At the bottom of the suitcase was a Heart gun and its holster, and suddenly he remembered using it before, on Gaichuu. He put it on and closed the suitcase. He was ready to leave, when he remembered something much more important than the gun.

"Where's my Dingo?" He said and stopped on his way to the door, thinking. What was the Dingos name?

"Vashuka. . ." He remembered the other day, being drawn to the house where Garai found him. He smiled to himself and rushed out the front door, and ran as fast as he could towards the house that he hoped had Vashuka. He was nearly at it's doorstep when his chest felt an explosion of hot pain, and he slowed and fell to the ground, clutching his chest and clenching his eyes shut. The pain almost made him cry out, but he kept his mouth shut hard. He opened his eyes and got up, and he forced himself to get to the door. He opened it easily, it wasn't locked. Once inside, the pain eased a tiny bit. He went immediately to the door he was last time Garai caught him and noticed it had many locks. The door itself was much heavier and thicker than the one he broke down before, so he was really hoping he was stronger than he thought. He stood back and kicked at it near the doorknob, but it didn't move at all. He kicked again a couple times, but to no avail. He then threw himself at the door, but he only managed to hurt himself. This door would not move one bit.

So then he started looking for a key, but a quick search around the kitchen and the rest of the house proved it to be hard to to find. And now he had lost precious time, and hoped that the Priest was preaching extra today. He stood starring at the door, wondering what to do next, when he heard muffled voices. . .coming from the door.

"Zaji!" It was a mix of three voices and he felt a pain more intense than before and fell to the floor. He was called Zaji, and it must be his friends behind that door. He remembered Connor and Lag had been with him when he came her, and there was a girl. . .Ione, Rend's sister! She had looked out for him, and wanted to be taken away from Angels Tears when he came there. Zaji stood up again slowly, holding his chest and fighting off waves of dizziness.

"Connor! Lag! Ione!" He said loudly, but not too loudly.

"Stand back Zaji!" It was the voice of Connor, and Zaji quickly went to kitchen and watched the door.

"One. . .Two. . .THREE!" He heard Connor say through the door, and with a mighty crash that must have been heard all the way to the church, the door fell off it's hinges and out tumbled the two Bees, the girl, a bloodhound, and a big black cat that bounded to Zaji the moment it stood up. His Heart ached at the sight of the cat.

"Vashuka!" Zaji said happily and pat him on the head. Vashuka purred and rubbed against him. He felt another stab of pain in his chest and leened against the cat for support.

"Are you okay?" Connor asked, he had just gotten up and now stood beside Zaji. Zaji just shook his head and closed his eyes. Lag ran around the kitchen, then ran through the rest of the house, obviously looking for something. Ione stood by a window and looked towards the church.

"We need to go now." She said after a moment. Lag came back just then, holding his Heart gun.

"Sorry Connor I couldn't find your Heart landmines." He said.

"Don't worry I can get more, lets just go." Connor said and Zaji nodded. He still felt a strong pain, but he was determined to walk under his own power so he declined Connors offer to help him. They all left the house and nearly ran towards the road that lead out of the village and into the barrens around it. There would be time later to exchange stories of what happened to them while they were stuck there, and for Zaji to ask them more about everything he was still confused about. . .which was everything.

Zaji heard something behind him and looked back, and he saw someone coming out of the church.

"Shit!" He said and the others looked back too. More people exited the church, and some of them pointed to Bees and Ione.

"Run!" Lag said and they all started running. But so did the people coming out of the church, and thy gained ground at a scary pace. Zaji's chest hurt more and more, and he wasn't running as fast as Lag or Ione. Connor stayed beside him, and whether it was because he couldn't run as fast or because he didn't want to leave Zaji behind, he didn't care. Vashuka ran easily beside him as well, and the bloodhound ran between them and Lag and Ione. Zaji looked back and saw that the people chasing them had already reached about twenty feet behind them. Without hesitation, he stopped suddenly and drew his gun, anger and hatred filled him and gave him strength.

"Aotoge!" He shouted and shot, firing a Heart bullet of hatred and malice directly at their pursuers. They dived to the sides, and with a blinding flash his malice bullet hit the ground and erupted in a shower of light. It left a small crater in the ground. Zaji turned back and ran beside Connor, and Lag and Ione had stopped ahead. They started running when Zaji and Connor came level with them, and they nearly reached the end of Angels Tears. There was shouting going on behind them, but they weren't being chased so closely now that Zaji had shot at them. In front of them though, a group of people had emerged from around a building and blocked their path. The Bees, girl, and Dingos all skidded to a halt, and looked around for some escape route. But they were trapped between two buildings with people at both ends. They stood back to back and faced the townspeople.

"Rend, why are-" A person in the crowd started.

"I am not Rend!" Zaji shouted at him angrily and took aim with his Heart gun. He shot, and some people screamed and dodged out of the way. The Heart bullet is the wall of a house and blew a small hole in it.

"Stop shooting!" Came the voice of the High Priest, and the crowd parted to let him through, with the Mayflowers trailing behind.

"So you can shoot people with Heart bullets but I can't?" Zaji said, with anger in his voice and a scowl on his face.

"Rend-" The High Priest started, but this time it was Ione who interupted him.

"Stop it!" She nearly shouted. Everyone stared at her as if they didn't notice that she was there before.

"His name is Zaji, and can't you just let us go? He will never be Rend, you can't make him Rend or anyone else!"

"We'll just have to do it again. . ."The Priest said and trailed off.

"How can you do that to someone? You're killing him by doing that, and you destroyed his own Heart and the person he was, just to try and get back someone that hated you in the first place!" Ione shouted out and people in the crowd gasped or swore angrily at her. She continued on though.

"Rend killed himself because he hated every single one of you, and most of all you three!" She pointed at the Preist and her parents. "And I hate you too! But instead of killing myself, I'm leaving, and helping Zaji get out of here too." She finished and balled her hand into fists, and she looked ready for a fight.

"He might as well stay behind, he has no Heart of his own anymore!" Someone back in the crowd said loudly, and everyone agreed.

"I do have my own Heart, you just broke it!" Zaji shouted and drew his gun again. Connor put a handon the end of the barrel though, and pushed it down. Zaji stared at him in disbelief.  
"If you shoot them, you're no better than them." He whispered and Zai grudgingly put his gun at his side.

"You just think you have your own Heart. . .but deep down inside, you are Rend now." The Priest said in an overly calm and soothing way, trying to make Zaji believe he was Rend still. An idea came to Zaji, and he looked at Lag.

"Shoot me." He said and Lag stared at him in confusion.

"What?" He said.

"Shoot me, and show me the Heart that is inside me, my real Heart." Zaji said, just loud enough for the nearest people to hear. Lags eyes widened and he seemed to understand.

"But, I can't shoot you! Your my friend!" He protested.

"And wont you help your friend remember his own Heart?"

"What's going on?" Mrs. Mayflower aid loudly and stepped foreword.

"NOW Lag!" Zaji said loudly and Lag pulled out his gun slowly. Connor stepped to the side, and Ione back away from Zaji.

"Are you sure about this Zaji?" Connor asked.

"It might not work." Ione said. Zaji just sighed.

"Right at my chest Lag." He said and Lag gulped and took aim.

"Show us his Heart, AKABARI!" Lag shouted the last word, and a blindingly bright Heary bullet shot it's way to Zaji. It struck him in the chest and he fell, but Connor rushed foreward and caught him before he hit the ground Zaji and everyone else watched in amazement as around them images formed.

Ther was one of Zaji as a child, sitting between two beds that each held a vacant-eyed person. A voice spoke in the background.

"His parent's Hearts were eaten by Gaichuu, and he watched while it happened. He sits there all day with soup ready, hoping for them to wake up, but they never realy do. He never even cried, not once though." The image faded and another took it's place.

Zaji was still quite young, and sat in a grassy field, playing with a large black kitten that was a young Vashuka. Then they saw Zaji a bit older, taking the Letter Bee entrance exam and finishing it quickly. Then they saw him killing Gaichuu with his Heart bullets of malice. They all felt his hatred for Gaichuu, hating them for what they did to his parents, and making him want to kill every single Gaichuu that existed. The image changed, to Zaji sitting in his small house, caring for a large amount of cats. Then they saw him shouting at Dr. Thunderhead, asking him where he took all the cats and threatening to do something if he didn't give them back. Then they saw Zaji meeting Lag, and doing deliveries with ihm or Connor, or both. Then there was Zaji in his small house again, with a white kitten on his lap and Vashuka at his side, he slammed his fist on the table, saying loudly with his voice full of hurt and anger, "Damnit, why'd they have to go? Why'd they have to leave me here. . ." And he got up and left his house. There were thousands of other images that went by too fast, the last one being right when he got shot with the nine Heart bullets of Rend.

Zaji clutched at his chest, it hurt more than ever before as he remembered everything. He couldn't believe he could forget all of it, and he nearly lost it all for good. If it weren't for Lag, he'd be a nobody, with no Heart of his own. Lags Heart bullet worked, and all of Zaji's Heart and memories were coming back in a rush. Lag, Connor and Ione were all crying, and Vashuka made odd noises and rubbed against Zaji, trying to cheer him up. The people of Angels Tears watched in silence, not knowing what to do. Connor still held Zaji, who tried to get up but just fell back in the others Bees arms. Zaji was filled with pain, anger, sorrow, and yet happiness at the same time. He was happy to have his Heart and memories back, but the memories themselves, and what the people here did to him filled him with anger and sadness. After a couple tries, and with Connors help, he was able to stand. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Mrs. Mayflower.

"I hate you now more than ever, and Rend hated you too. Give me a reason not to shoot you untill you die." Zaji said, his voice overridden with anger and hate, his eyes full of malice.  
"No, Zaji!" Lag said. "You can't let your anger control you like this, lets just leave them and never come back!"

"Rend didn't hate me!" The woman said loudly, and smiled at Zaji, who was about to pull the trigger. Connor put a hand on Zaji's shoulder and started to whisper in his ear. Zaji shook with anger, but he didn't shoot Mrs. Mayflower. Ione went to stand by her mothers side. Mother and daughter looked each other in the eyes, and Mrs. Mayflowers face drained of all color.

"Mother, you forced Rend into doing things and becoming someone he didn't want, and he killed himself because of it. You beat him, screamed at him, locked him in his room for days at a time, and you think he still loved you? I'm leaving now too, and you better not follow." Ione said with bitterness and left her mothers side and stood by Zaji, and whispered to him.

"Thats enough to punish her for the rest of her life, lets just go. I think they wont follow us." She said and after a moment of thought, Zaji nodded.

"No Bee will ever come here again to take your letters, now that we all will know what you could do." Zaji said without turning back, and the three Bees, two Dingos, and one girl left Angels Tears without another word, and the townspeople let them go without any trouble. Angels Tears disappeared from view quickly, and none of them looked back. Zaji leened against Connor as they went, Vashuka ran ahead of them to look for danger, Gasu the bloodhound trailed behind, and Lag and Ione walked on either side of Zaji and Connor.  
"Zaji, do you think you remember all of your Heart now?" Lag asked after a while, anxious about something.

"Well. . .Yeah. For four days I didn't know my name, that I was a Letter Bee, I even forgot my parents. . ." Zaji said and trailed off, looking sad.

"If I ever get shot with a Heart bullet again, I'm going to murder whoever does it!" He said, his voice shaking with anger.

"Don't worry about that, you wont have to go back to Angels Tears again, and I doubt anyone else is as messed up as them." Ione said and smiled at Zaji, who just grunted.

"When we get back to the Hive, we all need to give our reports as soon as we can." Connor said. Zaji sighed.

"Well, when I get back, I'm gonna have one hell of a nap." He grumbled, and the others laughed.

"Well, at least you still got your sense of humor." Connor said. Zaji nodded and closed his eyes tightly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Connor asked and stopped moving.

"N-nothing, just my chest."

"Let's get a little farther away from that place and rest-" Lag started, but Zaji interrupted him.

"Rest wont help, it's been getting worse and worse no matter how much rest I got."

Reluctantly, Connor and the others kept going, though all of them threw nervous glances at Zaji, who didn't realy notice. They kept going untill Ione finaly said she was too tired to go any farther, though they all knew she wasn't tired at all and was doing it for Zajis sake. They didn't rest long before they went on again, and this pattern continued untill they reached a town with farms around it.

They walked through the long grass slowly, enjoying the field that gave them a break from the harsher barren terrain they had just walked over. A tall man that was throwing out feed for chickens in a penned-off area saw them, and waved. Lag waved back, but the man didn't notice as he just saw Zaji being suported by Connor, and rushed over to help.

"Hey does he need medical attention?" He asked. The Bees and the girl looked at each other.

"Uh. . .I don't think anyone here can help him." Connor said, and the farmer stared at him.

"What? Why?" He asked, brow furrowed.

"He got shot with a lot of Heart bullets. . ." Connor said and the farmer nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know anyone here that can fix that, but I can get you all a place to stay and some good food. M'names Thialfi." He offered to help support Zaji, who looked like he was ready to faint. Connor shook his head, but Thialfi wouldn't take no for an answer. Instead of helping him with Zaji, he just scooped up Zaji.

"Whoa, whats going on?" Zaji seemed to come around a bit, but just long enough to look around until he saw the farmer and his friends. He closed his eyes and became unresponsive within seconds.

The farmer lead them to a large sqaure building that sat on the side of the town square, where a bunch of statues; one of the statues was incomplete.

"This is the inn, my brother runs it." Thialfi said and nodded at Connor to opene the door for him. Once opened, a woman came over with a smile on her face.

"Hello, welcome to-" She stopped when she saw Thialfi carrying the small Bee and ran over to the counter, where she whispered to a tall blonde man that looked

almost exactly like Thialfi. He came from around the desk and strode up to Thialfi.

"Whats this all about?" He said, rather grumpily.

"This kids been hurt, and they all need a place to stay for tonight at least."

"Do you expect me to let them stay for free?" Thialfis brother crossed his arms and glared at the farmer.

"No, but at least give them a discount."

"We'll be gone soon." Connor piped up, hoping to help.

"Yeah, we just need a room for tonight." Lag said. Thialfis brother looked from one to the other, and then his eyes rested on Zaji for a long moment. He sighed.

"Fine, but they all share a room. They'll only have to pay for two people on the sale price." He said and turned away. The woman that had initially tried greeting them motioned for them to follow, and lead them down a hall and up the stairs to the second floor. They got a room that only had a bed, a couch, a chair, a table, and two big windos that overlooked the town square with the statues.

"Well, I gotta go back and tend to the chickens and the vegetables. In a while I come by to take you to my place for dinner." Thialfis said, and carefully laid Zaji on the bed. He smiled at them all, and they all thanked him. Once he left, Ione moved to the window and looked out. Lag sat in the chair, and Gasu the bloodhound sat at his feet. Vashuka sat be the bed and laid his head by Zaji's head.

"After dinner we should get some sleep and then head out as soon as we can." Connor said.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Lag said and looked between Connor and Ione.

"I coud take the couch." Ione said, and sat down on it.

"I guess I could sleep in the chair." Lag said thoughtfully and leened back. It looke more comfortable than the bed.

"And Connor could share the bed with Zaji, since its a big bed." Ione said and Connor nodded, but he seemed to be barely listening, staring into nothingness.

"I'm glad Zaji didn't permanently lose his Heart. . ." Connor mumbled, just loud enough for the others to hear. Lag nodded, but Ione frowned.

"I just hope he can get better, if he dosen't than what will he do?" She said and they all fell silent, wondering what exactly would happen to Zaji after they got back to the Hive.


	6. Chapter 6

Refer to the first chapter if you give a darn about the legal thing.

Zaji woke up suddenly and sat up, reaching for the gun at his side. It wasn't there, so he looked around himself frantically. He stopped when he saw someone laying beside him. He was on a large bed, and sharing the bed was Connor Culh, his friend. Zaji looked around the room, and saw Lag sleeping in a large chair, and Ione on a couch. He didn't recognize the room, but since they were all together there must've been no danger. He wondered why he woke up so suddenly, and terrified, but he couldn't remember. It didn't matter then, all that mattered is that he was away from Angels Tears. His chest hurt, but he ignored it.

"Zaji, how are you feeling?" The large lump beside him said, and Zaji looked at Connor in the darkness. Connor was smiling at him.

"No worse, no better." Zaji said and looked around for Vashuka. He was sleeping on the floor beside the bed. Connor sat up and yawned.

"It's still early. . .should we wake up the others and go?" Connor asked Zaji, who shook his head.

"They need sleep too." Zaji got out of bed and stood up slowly. He noticed that he only wore his white shirt and pants, and looked for the rest of his clothes. Vashuka woke up and yawned widely, shook his head and rubbed against Zaji, purring. Zaji patted Vashuka, forgetting about his pains momentarily.

"Connor, what happened. . .while my Heart was broken?" Zaji asked Connor, looking back over is shoulder at the other boy.

"To us, or you?" Connor replied and pointed to a closet, and Zaji opened it to find his jacket and other gear.

"You." Zaji said as he got his jacket and then boots on.

"Not much, we were stuck in that basement for the whole time. We tried to get out, but nothing worked. We could hear any conversation that went on in the kitchen though." Connor said and walked over to beside Zaji and started getting on his jacket as well.

"Zaji don't worry about it, and don't think too much about it." Connor said and smiled at Zaji. Zaji stared at him with sorrow in his eyes. Connors smile slipped.

"Doesn't stop me from wanting to cause them as much pain as they've caused me." A glimmer of the hatred Zaji had shown before leaving Angel's Tear's flickered across his face. Connor looked sadly at Zaji, and Zaji finally looked away. Then Connor lunged foreward and grabbed up Zaji in his arms and gave him a rib-cracking hug. Zaji struggled and complained.

"Ack, Connor what the heck are you doing?!" Zaji gasped out, trying to breath.

"Hugs fix everything!" Connor said and smiled. Zaji struggled and eventually wriggled out of his grasp and glared at Connor, but he smiled anyways. Lag stirred in his chair, and Connor and Zaji glanced over. Lag remained asleep and Connor and Zaji looked away again.

"I'm gonna go for a walk." Zaji said once he got all his gear back on, and patted Vashuka on the head. He went to the door, and Connor followed. Zaji glanced at him, but said nothing and they both left the room. The halls of the Inn were empty, and a lady at the front desk smiled at them sleepily as they left through the front door. Zaji lead the way, and they wandered to the statues in the town square. There were five statues, all life-sized. One was a woman in a long flowing dress and she held a bird of prey on her arm that was outstretched. Her face was wonderfully detailed, and depicted the perfect show of a caring motherly expression. One of the statues was stocky, burly man that looked like a farmer, his face looked perfectly content. Another statue was a tall skinny man with glasses and a suit on, he held a book and a paintbrush. The last statue other than an unfinished one was of a small girl with an expression of joy, she clung onto a kitten and in one hand raised upward was an egg.

"I wonder who they were." Connor said. Zaji nodded, wondering as well.

"Our founders and great people of our past." A voice behind the two Bees made them turn quickly. There stood an old man with a lot of beard hair and absolutely no hair on his head. He smiled widely at them and continued talking.

"The woman with the bird and the farmer were the first to find this place, they built a small farm and invited other family members to come and live here as well. They built more farms, and from selling their extra foodstuffs at crop-off, they became wealthier and wealthier. The man with the book came after a long time, and the two founders had long since passed. He said it would be great if they made it into an actual town with the money they made, and it expanded into what it is now." The old man finished and smiled at the statues.

"What about the little girl?" Zaji asked. The old mans smiled changed from fondness to sadness.

"She lived here not long ago, about ten years ago or so. She was sick, and in a time when everything was hard, and everyone thought the town was going under and failing, she made us all happier. She also raised the first chickens we had. She was the heart of the town, and was probably the only thing that kept us from abandoning this town and going somewhere else. Things got better after a year or so, and she died in her sleep not long after." They fell silent, gazing at the statues one by one.

"Who's that one going to be?" Connor said and pointed to the unfinished statue, it was merely just a vaguely human-shaped blob of stone.

"I have no idea." The old man smiled and waved, and walked away. Zaji and Connor watched him go, both mildly confused.

"He's odd." Zaji said finally and Connor smiled. After a moment they walked away, wandering the streets slowly. All was quiet and peaceful, everyone seemed to still be asleep. The cold stars twinkled and shone brightly to the town below, and a slight breeze winded its way through the buildings. Zaji and Connor passed by many houses and small businesses, wordlessly looking from one place to another. After a moment, Zaji stopped and looked thoughtful.

"Whats this place called?" He asked, and Connor opened his mouth to say something but then closed it with a frown on his face. He looked confused and didn't say anything. Zaji chuckled and opened his bag, searching through it for his map. Once he found it he opened it and searched for where they were.

"Cornfield Hills town." He said.

"You know, we never asked or even bothered to figure it out, we just-" Connor said and stopped when Zaji suddenly fell to his knees clutching his heart and clenching his eyes shut. Connor caught him and stopped him from falling any farther, and watched the smaller Bee with worry. Zaji shuddered a bit and gave Connor a week smile.

"Once we get to the Hive, we'll figure out how to make you better if your not better by then." Connor said, trying to sound convincing but failing horribly at it. Zaji just nodded and tried to stand up. He could only stand up with Connors help, and when the bigger Bee let go he swayed and almost fell again. Connor suported him and opened his mouth to say something, but a shout interrupted him and made them startle and look ahead.

"Hey, Bee!"

There were four young men walking quickly down the street towards them, all staggering and unable to walk in a straight line. They all looked closely related, with short brown hair, oval-shaped faces and large noses. Two were short and very muscular, one was very tall and skinny and the last one was completely average. They stopped right in front of the two Bees and one of the tall ones smiled evilly at Zaji.

"Well well well, jusht the freak we wanted to find." He slurred. The others laughed stupidly.

"What do you want?" Zaji asked and glared at them. The same tall guy leaned far down and shoved his face close to Zaji's.

"You, come with us, now, Rend." He said quietly and moved to grab Zaji, but Connor pulled him back quickly and stood in front of him. Zaji muttered something to Connor about protecting himself, but he ignored him.

"How do you know that?" Connor asked, trying to sound tough.

"About an hour ago someone arrived and told us all about you, and we were ordered to bring him back. With, or without damage." The tall man said and smiled. He snapped his fingers and the other three jumped around him and went on the offensive, without staggering and all traces of drunkeness gone. Connor shoved Zaji away, sending him to the ground and out of their reach for the moment. Zaji scrambled to get up, but a searing pain across his chest made him fall to the gorund on all fours, gasping for air. Connor punched one of the attackers in the stomach, making him double over. Before he could do anything else, the two muscular ones slammed into him and driving him to the ground. The tall one went around them and gabbed Zaji by his hair and pulled him to his feat. Zaji struggled against him, but he couldn't loosen the tall ones grip. The small Bee reached for his gun, but his captor smacked his hand out of the way, pulled out the Bees gun and threw it aside.

"Let him go!" Connor said, and the two muscular men pulled him to his feet and held on tightly.

"Not until I've had my fun with him and brought him back to Angel's Tears, like I was ordered." And with that he moved his hand from Zajis hair to his wrist and turned to walk away, trying to drag Zaji along. But Zaji was quite angry, and he kicked out with all his strength at the tall man's leg. The tall man shouted out in pain and fell to his knees, and let go of Zaji. The Bee turned and dashed for his gun, but the average guy of the attacking bunch dove foreword and they wrestled for the gun. The attacker was stronger than Zaji, but Zaji was more coordinated. He kicked the stronger man's gut and got the gun from his grasp. Zaji got to his feet and aimed at the two that were holding Connor.

"Did that messenger from Agnel's Tears also tell you I like to shoot people that I realy don't like?" Zaji said, anger filling his voice.

The two muscular men must have been cowards, for they let go of Connor instantly and backed off. Connor went to Zajis side and whispered into his ear.

"Don't shoot them, lets just go back to the others." Zaji didn't reply, but he was thinking it over. The four men now stood side by side, facing him with their arms in the air. The tall man whispered something to the others and they all smiled.

"What are you talking about?" Zaji asked loudly.

"HELP!" They all shouted suddenly, at the top of their lungs. Zaji and Connor jumped a bit and stared at them, confused. Then Zajis eyes widened.

"Shit!" He said and quickly put his gun away. He grabbed Connors hand and turned to go, but another shout stopped him.

"Stop there!" A few men and a woman, all holding various farm tools were running towards them.

"What's going on?" An older man said, and before Zaji or Connor could say anything the tall man spoke up quickly.

"That freak-" he pointed at Zaji, "just started attacking us! He's unstable!"

"Hey your the one that attacked us first!" Zaji said angirly. The townspeople watched them carefuly.

"Okay, you tell me what happened first." The woman said to the tall guy. He shot Zaji a look that no one else noticed and started talking, spinning his tall tale with ease.

"We were just having some, wandering around and chatting, when we came to this street." He began and his friends nodded with enthusiasm."And we saw these two standing there talkin', and when we got close the wierd-eyed kid got all angry at us!" Again he pointed to Zaji.

"And what did he do?" The woman asked.

"He pulled his gun on us and threatened to shoot us! We don't know what a Heart bullet does, but we were scared for our lives."

"And thats when you shouted for help?"

"Yes ma'am."

The woman turned to Zaji and eyed him suspiciously.

"And whats your side of the story?" She asked skeptically. Zaji was about to speak, but his chest hurt him and he faltered. Connor took over for him quickly.

"We were just wandering around as well, and we were here when they called out to us and said something about taking him somewhere. They tried to grab him and we started fighting, but we never meant to hurt anyone." Connor said, and the townspeople looked from one group to the other.

"We're holding all of you liable to starting trouble, so if anything else happens you will be punished without hesitation while you are here." The woman said with finality. She muttered something to two of the men and they nodded.

"I'll escort you to wherever you are staying to make sure you don't get in trouble." One man said to Zaji and Connor, and the other man said the same thing to the four young men.

"We're staying at the Inn." Connor said.

"So are we." Said the tall man, and he shot Zaji another look. The two men nodded and motioned for them to follow. Zaji and Connor walked a short distance from the group that attacked them. Zaji was filled with anger. How dare they accuse him of starting the fight! It seems that the people of Angels Tears weren't letting him go without a fight, and he felt the urge to shout at them about how wrong they were. He kept quiet though, and ignored the pain in his chest. Connor was watching him with worry, but he also remained silent.  
They were escorted not just to the Inn, but right to their room. The other group was lead away before they reached the hall to their room, and the tall one smiled evilly at Zaji before they split off. He glared back at him.

"Don't cause anymore trouble." Their escort said and left before they could say anything, leaving them at the door to their room.

"Bastards." Zaji muttered and opened the door. Lag and Ione were still asleep, and the two Dingos were awake and greeted them. Gasu jumped upa nd licked Connors ears, and Vashuka rubbed against Zaji's legs and purred. Zaji sudenly felt very tired and sat on the bed, holding his chest and closing his eyes. Connor sat beside him after calming Gasu.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of here as soon as were all ready to go." Connor said and smiled."You should get some rest." Zaji nodded and moved around so he was laying on the bed, he closed his eyes almost instantly fell asleep with his jacket and gun on and everything else still. Connor sighed and took off his own boots, then carefully removed Zaji's boots. He took off the other Bees hat, and carefully took his bag and gun holster off as well. Zaji was so deep asleep already he didn't even stir, just made odd sighing noises.

Connor put everything in the closet again and went to the bed and lay down, trying not to disturb Zaji. He stared at the ceiling for a while before he found sleep, wondering and worrying about his friend. Zaji's chest pain was seemingly random, and intense, and normally when someone was shot with a Hart bullet there was no real lingering pain, but then again Zaji might have been the first to be shot with more than one bullet at a time. Hopefully someone like Dr. Thunderhead wold be able to help, or Aria Rink's restorative Heart bullet could make Zaji better.

He looked over at Zaji, and smiled. His friend apeared to be in no pain in his sleep, wich was some comfort to Connor.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Tegami Bachi/Letter Bee or its characters blah blah. I do own Angels Tears, Ione, random characters of my own, Cornfield Hills Town and a certain Gaichuu that I invented. . .That may or may not appear in this chapter.

Anyways. . .chapter 7.

Zaji woke up to Connor gently shaking his shoulder. He was confused for a moment, wondering where he was and completely forgetting everything that had happened in the past week or so. He glanced around the unfamiliar room and saw a girl he did not know, and a boy with silver hair that looked vaguely familiar. There was a black cat the size of person staring at him, and it took him a moment to recall it's name.

"Vashuka. . ." He mumbled, then everything came back to him in a rush. The girl was Ione, the silver-haired boy was Lag, and they were in a town called Cornfield Hills. Everything about Angels Tears came back, and his and Connors encounter with the four men who wanted to take Zaji away, back to Angels Tears.

"Zaji, you okay?" Connor asked. Zaji nodded an sat up. He noticed that everyone looked tense, even the Dingos.

"Whats up?" He asked sleepily.

"Bad weather coming in. We wont be able to travel for a couple days at least, and those guys from earlier have been pacing around in our hall or out front of the Inn." Connor said.

"Idiots." Zaji mumbled and stood up slowly. He was careful not to do something that might trigger the pain in his chest, but he had no idea what would make it hurt really. He was just hoping to avoid any potential chest pain 'attacks'.

"Ione, do you know any of them?" Zaji asked the girl and she sighed.

"Yeah, they're my cousins." She said with obvious disgust. Zaji grunted and went to the window and looked out. The stars were still visible, but he could see clouds rolling in.

"Stupid storm. . ." He muttered. Vashuka came and sat beside him, and he rested his hand on the Dingos head. His mind wandered briefly to the cats, wondering if they were well fed or at least somewhere warm. He also wondered about how Sylvette Suede was doing. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He glanced at the others, and Ione stepped foreword to answer it.

"Who is it?" She said through the door.

"We've come for the Bee." A voice said back and Ione smiled and flicked her long dark hair back.

"Just try it, fools." She said in a dangerous voice.

"Oh we will." The voice replied and they heard footsteps walk away. Ione huffed and went to the couch and sat down.

"I just thought. . .do we have enough money to stay here for while the storm lasts? Thialfi's brother said just one day, and that day's kinda gone." Lag asked, and everyone looked at him. It appears that none of them thought about that.

"We'll have to talk to the Innkeeper about that." Connor said after a moment of silence.

"I have no money, it was all taken." Zaji grumbled angrily.

"I have none." Ione said.

"I have some, but not enough if they charge us full price for a couple nights." Lag said and smiled a bit.

"My money plus Lag's will cover us for a couple nights, not counting food. . ." Connor said.

"Let's hope it's a fast storm." Zaji said and went to the bed and sat down. He glanced around, just realizing that he had no jacket or anything on other than his pants and his undershirt. He wondered who kept taking his stuff off for a moment, then went to the closet to get it all. He only made it halfway there when he had a searing pain across his chest and he cried out in pain. His vision blanked out briefly and he fell to his hands and knees, one hand on his chest. Instantly the others were at his side, worried.

"Zaji!" Lag and Ione said, very worried.

"I-I'm . . .O-oka-" Zaji didn't finish his sentence, and he was clearly not okay. He looked up at them, his face ridden with pain and then he he went limp, and closed his eyes. The pain was too much for him to handle, and he fainted.

He woke up suddenly, a loud noise chasing away his drowsiness instantly. He looked around, and quickly noticed he was not alone. There were two boys and a girl he did not know, as well as a bloodhound and massive black cat. The Cat looked vaguely familiar, but everyone else was a mystery to him. He tried to remember how he knew the cat, but to no avail.

"Zaji, those guys have decided that attacking us while everyone is preparing for the storm is their best idea." The girl said when she looked over and saw him sitting up. His name was Zaji? Huh, who knew. Wasn't his name Rend? Upon thinking that name he remembered the girl, it was his sister Ione! But the other two were still unknown to him. There was another series of sharp knocks on the door to the room.

"Come on, we wont hurt you. . . Much. Just send the freak out and we can avoid all this trouble." A voice from the other side of the door said. Rend thought it sounded familiar, but he had no idea who it came from.

"Zaji, are you feeling better?" One boy said to him, he was slightly taller but a lot bigger around, and he had small, kind eyes. Obviously the question was directed at him, but he didn't think his name was Zaji.

"Yeah. . ." He said slowly, the boy talking to him was starting to look familiar, like someone he knew a long time ago that he hadn't seen for years.

"Why are you calling me Zaji?" He decided he might as well ask. All three of the others froze and turned to face him. Ione was sad-looking, the larger boy almost angry, and the other boy who had silver hair had his mouth hanging open, and his eye that wasn't covered by silver bangs was wide open.

"You are Zaji. . .Did you forget again?" The larger boy said and came and sat on the edge of the bed Rend was on.

"I'm Rend. . ." He said, but now he was unsure. Something in his Heart was shouting at him that he wasn't Rend, but he didn't know for sure.

"Aren't I?"

"No, your Zaji the Letter Bee!" The bigger boy said, urgency in his voice. Just then, before anyone could say anything else; the door burst open loudly. A tall thin man stepped in, followed by two shorter muscular men and one who was completely average.

"Now, we didn't want to do that, but we had to. Lets make the rest of this easier, shall we?" The tall man said mockingly, like he was talking to small children. Anger filled Rend/Zaji, and he remembered an encounter with those four. . .but it was terribly blurry.

"By the way, I'll introduce us," the tall man said and pointed to the average-looking guy, "he's Anthony-" he then pointed to each of the muscular men, who looked like twins, "and they're Bruk and Sern, and I am Avarice."

The tall man, Avarice, motioned at Bruk and Sern and pointed to the bed, or more like Rend/Zaji. The two big men rushed foreward, but then Ione and the two boys jumped in their path. The larger boy tried to hit them, but he was shoved away. The girl got thrown to the side of the room like she was nothing more than a doll, and the silver haired boy was just trampled over.

Rend jumped out of the bed and got ready to fight them, but before he could do anything a searing, unbearable pain shot across his chest; he gasped and grabbed ahold of the bed for support. Then it came to him, he wasn't Rend, he was Zaji, and Ione wasn't his sister. He remember Connor, Lag, Vashuka and Gasu, and everything about Angels Tears. Anger filled him, and right before Burk and Sern reached him he ducked down and to the side.

"Atack, Vashuka!" He commanded his Dingo, and he obeyed instantly. The great cat leaped onto the back of either Burk or Serk, he couldn't tell which, and began biting the back of his shirt and shredding it. He screamed out more in fear tan pain, and the other tried to beat the cat off but t didn't work.

"Gasu, help Vashuka!" Connor called out and the bloodhound jumped at the other muscular man, biting onto his arm. Ione, Lag, Connor and Zaji faced the other two men and a flicker of fear ghosted across Avarice's face. He then smirked evilly and pulled out from his pocket a long thin knife with a slight curve.

"Come on and try me." He said and motioned with his fingers as if he were waving them over. Anthony, the average guy, also pulled out a knife, and then a second one. Zaji looked for his gun, but it was on the bedside table, where Burk and Serk were trying to fight off the two Dingos, and he couldn't reach it. Lag's gun was on the chair that was right near Zaji, and Lag himself was on the wrong side of the room to get to it. Ione had no weapon, and Connors Heart landmines wouldn't be of any use here. Zaji quickly moved to the chair and picked up Lag's gun and pointed it at Avarice.

"Don't you know not to bring a knife to a gun fight?" Zaji said. Avarice glared at him and smiled still, which was disconcerting. Anthony then drew his arm back and threw one of his knives at Zaji. Zaji ducked, and the knife stuck into the bakc of the wall. Right when he ducked, Avarice jumped at him, and Anthony pulled out another knife and starting towards Connor and Lag. An angry yowl emitted from Vashuka, it appeared that Burk or Serk, whichever one it was he jumped on, had dislodged the big cat and was running at Ione. Zaji stopped paying attention to what was happening with everyone else when Avarice reached him.

"Freak!" He said and grabbed the hand that held onto Lag's Heart gun and the other hand balled up into a fist and punched Zaji in the stomach. Zaji kicked out at his legs, but Avarice ignored it and pushed the small Bee into the wall. He took the hand that had punched Zaji and grabbed onto the boys neck.

"Your coming with me, and if you struggle you will regret it." Avarice said, his face close to Zaji's. Zaji just smirked at him, and with his free hand he grabbed tightly onto Avarices shoulder and pulled up his legs. He kicked the tall man in the chest and knocked him back, and Zaji fell to the ground and landed hard on his butt, though instead of getting up he just pointed the gun at Avarice.

"Just try it." Zaji said, and concentrated all the hate and malice he could muster into one bullet and shouted "AOTOGE!" and fired at Avarice. Avarice leaped to one side with almost inhuman speed, but he still got hit, though it was a a glancing blow. The brilliant Heart bullet hit the wall on the other side of the room, and Avarice was on the ground. Instantly the fighting in the room stopped. Ione was holding her own decently against Anthony, and either Burk or Serk was fighting Connor and Lag with knives. The other twin was holding off Vashuka, with a chair. Zaji aimed Lag's gun at the one fighting his fellow Bees.

"You know what I'd do." Zaji said and stood up. The one fighting the two Bees dropped his knives and held his hands up.

"Look out!" Zaji heard Ione scream out, and he turned just in time to see Anthony rushing at him with two knives. Zaji wasn't able to move fast enough to the side, and one knife was jabbed into his left arm. It sunk deeply, and stayed in. Zaji was barely aware of the pain in his arm though, his chest decided to hurt him right when he tried to dodge out of the way and the pain there was way worse than the knife in his arm. Zaji swept the gun around and smacked Anthony in the head. Ione ran to him and started attacking the man with a flurry of fists. He went down quickly and Zaji turned to face the other two that were left.

Connor and Lag were taking down the twin that was fighting them, and Vashuka had managed to pounce onto the other. Since the others seemed to be handling things well enough, he put Lags gun down and pulled the knife out of his arm. He grunted in pain, and his vision blurred for a moment. Blood poured down his previously white shirt. Ione grabbed the nearest jacket and tossed it to him. He quickly put it on and with his other hand put pressure on the wound. He picked up Lags gun with his injured arm and aimed at the man fighting Lag and Connor. The enemy was winning that fight, but not for long.

"Hey, meatclod!" He said loudly and the big man faced Zaji stupidly. He pulled the trigger at the same time two other things happened.  
Lag, Connor and Ione all called out "No Zaji!" loudly, and a bunch of people rushed into the room right as the brilliant Heart bullet flashed across the room and his the big man's shoulder, sending him flying back into the wall.

"Drop the gun!" A man from the doorway shouted, and two tall burly men came foreward. Zaji didn't move, just watched them come closer.

"Zaji put it down." Connor said and Zaji looked at him. Connor looked both worried, and relieved. Zaji sighed and put the gun down, and the two men that were coming towards sudenly rushed and each grabbed an arm. Zaji flinched when one man grabbed his arm right his wound was. The Innkeeper, Thialfis brother came in and looked around with an expression of outrage.

"You! I knew letting you stay was a mistake!" He pointed at Zaji. "Get him out of here! And the others as well."

"Sir, what about the storm?" One of them men holding onto Zaji said.

"They can stay at my brothers, or some other place, I don't care!" The Innkeeper motioned for them to leave the room. The two men holding Zaji roughly half-dragged, half-carried him out of the room and into the hall. Lag, Connor and Ione followed.

"Someone get a doctor for these men." They heard the Innkeeper say right before they got out of earshot.

Once they got to the front of the Inn, and out the front door a few steps, the two men holding Zaji let go and shoved him roughly. Pain spike in his chest right then and he fell to his knees and held his chest. Ione and the other Bees rushed to his side. The man that had been holding onto Zajis injured arm went to rub his face, and noticed his whole hand was blood-stained. He looked at it confusedly, then looked at Zaji.

"Is he injured?" He asked, and the other man stepped foreword to get a closer look at Zaji.

"Yeah, he got stabbed by those men that attack US." Ione said. Connors and Lags eyes went wide, neither of them saw Zaji get stabbed, and since he was wearing his dark Letter Bee jacket they could see the blood. Ione helped Zaji pull his arm out of the sleeve, and the white shirt underneath had a whole sleeve completely stained red.

"Uhhh, now what? We were told to get rid of him." The man with the bloody hand said.

"Lets take him to the doctors quick." The other man said, and they helped Zaji to his feet and this time carefully held him and lead him across the town square.

"I'm Gullfaxi by the way." The man with the bloodied hand said. "Sorry for the rough treatment before."

"And I'm Hrungir" The other man said. Both were red-haired and had large beards, though Gullfaxi was taller and stronger-looking. Zaji muttered something and clenched his eyes shut and stopped moving. His legs stopped suporting him and he shook.

"Hey kid what's wrong?" Gullfaxi said and stopped.

"Zaji!" Connor said and went in front of the small Bee and put his hands on his shoulders.

"I-I'm. . ."

"Not okay." Connor finished his sentence.

"That happened two or thee times in the fight as well, they're getting closer together." Ione said worriedly. Gullfaxi and Hrungir looking from one kid to another in confusion.

"Whats wrong?" Gullfaxi asked.

"It's a long story." Ione said.

"Tell us once we get him to the doctors, which we should do fast." Gullfaxi said and Ione nodded. They were lead across the town square and into a little street that was stragith across from the Inn, and down near the end of the narrow street was a short wide building with lots of windows and bright paint. Gullfaxi opened the door and went in sideways with Zaji and Hrungir.

"Hey Doc we got a seriously injured kid here!" He called out. They were in a small square room that looked like it used to be a dinning room. There were some missmatched chairs and a desk that was empty. on the other end of the room was a door, and out of it came a disgruntled-looking man that was old enough to be Zaji's grandpa. His eyes fell on Zaji, and Gullfaxi moved so that he could see the boys bloody shirt and arm.

"Bring him through here." The doctor said and went back through the door he came out of. Everyone followed, and they were lead into a short hall with doors on either side. They went into one room with a table and bunch of odd-looking tools for surgery and other things.

"On the table with him." He said and got out of the way. Gullfaxi and Hrungir picked up Zaji and put him on the table. Zaji mumbled somethig, but he appeared to be barely awake.

"Zaji don't worry, they'll help." Connor said and Zaji just nodded and closed his eyes.

"Now out, if anything you need to know comes up I'll come and tell you, but your no good here right now." The doctor said gruffly but also kindly and motioned for them all to leave. Ione, Gullfaxi and Hrungir nodded and left immediately, but Lag and Connor hesitated.

"Go, I wont hurt him." The doctor said to them and turned to Zaji. Connor sighed and the two Bees left the room. Once they were oustide they followed Ione and the two men back to the entrance room and sat in some chairs.

"Could you tell us what all was with those men attacking you? And whats with that kids chest pain?" Gullfaxi asked and Hrungir nodded. Ione looked at Connor and Lag, and the two Bees smiled at her. She settled herself in her chair and started to tell the story of Angels Tears.

"Well, Zaji first came to us a while ago, and. . ."


End file.
